Brazzil

Pure air, a landscape surrounded by mountains, good food and the pleasant citizens of Minas justify a trip to Belo Horizonte. But the capital of Minas Gerais has more in store, much more to offer visitors. Among the pleasant surprises is Liberdade Square Cultural Circuit, in the Central region.

How much credit should Brazil's presidents get for its remarkable progress since the return to democracy in 1985? Elections have been conducted smoothly, the economy has grown, poverty and inequality have declined and social indicators are improving. Did Brazil succeed because of its presidents or in spite of them? Or because of some and in spite of others?

A narrow strip of sand that seems like it may be submersed any second, marks the meeting between Baía de Camamu's (Camamu Bay) peaceful waters and the stronger waves of the Atlantic Ocean. A framework of wood and straw beams is the only sign of human occupation at Coroa Vermelha (Portuguese for Red Crown), as the bay's locals dubbed this sand strip.

Brazil is booming.  Latin America's largest and most populous nation recently surpassed the United Kingdom to become the world's sixth-largest economy - and is projected to move up one more spot by the end of 2012.

The leading Brazilian politician José Serra celebrated his 70th birthday on 19 March 2012. But even at this age the pugnacious former president candidate is in the middle of a new fight for the future of the country.

If you were ambling along the Copacabana beach, in Rio, in recent months, you could hear it many a time: The melody of "Who is ready to jump" by Suriname-born Dutch DJ Chuckie. Finest funk, mixed with raw bass beats and staccato sounds and at the top of the Brazil dance charts.

Comfort food to many means meat and potatoes or something that makes you feel warm and fuzzy (goulash is another example). However, to me that feeling comes from eating Brazilian food.

On December 5, 2010 I published a piece in Brazzil (1) highlighting five steps the Obama administration could take to improve bilateral relations with Brazil under the newly elected government of President Dilma Rousseff. I concluded,

Harmonica player, vibraphonist and composer Hendrik Meurkens may have been born in Germany, but listening to his work you realize that he definitely has a Brazilian soul. Over his career, he has not only contributed original music to the canon of Samba Jazz, but he has also helped take the music of Brazil to international audiences both in the United States and in Europe.

Younger people find it strange that the Vietnam War has so much importance in the consciousness of those who are now more than 60 years old. During that war, however, many of us knew more about the geography of that small, distant, exotic country than that of our own.

Silent movie The Artist may have won five Oscars last night, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, but in Brazil - a country of almost 200 million people - only 144,840 people in 51 theatres have paid to watch it, according to Brazzil Magazine.

There are many musicians who cite late maestro Antonio Carlos Jobim as an influence and inspiration, but there are few who can claim to have performed with him.  Even fewer can boast having worked alongside him for as much as ten continuous years. 

Salvador, Bahia, commemoration event of the Holocaust organized by the Brazilian Jewish community in the Bahian capital. The press is squeezed in a small area at about 20-30 meters from the stand where president Dilma Rousseff is staying. After the event the president flies away. No questions from the press.

Instead of the consumption of classes, education is a process of knowledge accumulation. But our university classrooms seem like restaurants where classes are consumed. Due to the students' poor preparation, the increase in higher-education admission slots will not bring about the desired results. The classes will fail as builders of high-level knowledge.

"I am going to burn cars, I am going to burn trucks and shut the access of the Rio-Bahia road, a federal road." "Shut the access my brother. Shut the BR". This conversation shown on Brazilian national TV did not take place between criminals but between policemen, between a policeman and  Marco Prisco, the head of Bahia's police trade union.

Amidst the clamor of international outrage in the wake of the failed United Nations Security Council vote for regime change in Syria, Brazil has remained conspicuously silent. While the United States closed its embassy in Damascus, and while the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, called the vote "a great disappointment," the dominant economic and political force in Latin America was not inclined to take action.

Legislative Assembly, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. About 200 military policemen are occupying the Assembly.  They are surrounded by more than 1300 Army soldiers, besides other police forcers. About 500 military policemen are outside the area threatening to close the Avenida Paralela, the main road to the Assembly which links the city center to the Airport.

Side street of a residential area of a city of Bahia.  Mountains of trash grow day by day under the very hot tropical sun. The trash has not been collected since Saturday and rats run freely in the streets.

Human shields: the same tactic used by Saddam Hussein during the US invasion of Iraq is being used now to protect the policemen on strike in Salvador, the capital of Brazil's northeastern state of Bahia.

Rio de Janeiro, known for its Carnaval and soon to stage the 2014 World Cup and the Olympics in 2016, is experiencing serious, internal disorder. The public security sector, composed of the local city police, firefighters, and lifeguards, is threatening to go on strike on February 10, 2012, the eve of the most popular party in the world: Carnaval.